Thank you , but I'm afraid I couldn't get an answer from the man.
I have a similar question please :
Is there a possibility to remove all installed packages except one particular package (+its dependencies) ?
kind of workaround to exclude a package

daemonfowl, its appears to me that you have a block when it comes to technical information of any kind. As I see it, if the exact steps aren't laid out one-at-a-time in easy to swallow form so that you can copy/paste a solution, you never see an answer.

Let me lay out what you missed. I recommended you pay attention to the second paragraph, which I have highlighted.

Code:

Manual installation
pkg_add differentiates between packages specified on the command line,
and packages installed automatically because of inter-dependencies: the
first kind will be tagged as `installed manually'. The -a option is used
internally by the ports(7) infrastructure and dpb(1) to handle
dependencies.
It is also possible to tweak the `installed manually' status of a package
after the fact. Running pkg_add on an already installed package will tag
it as `installed manually', even if it was already there as a dependency
of something else, and doubling the -a option will remove the `installed
manually' tag from installed packages.
pkg_info(1) can be used to show only manually-installed packages, and
pkg_delete(1) can be used to remove dependencies when they are no longer
needed.

You missed these logical steps:

"Packages I install myself are marked as 'installed manually'. Dependencies that automatically install are not marked that way."

"I can change an installed package's marking just by using pkg_add with it."

"I can check which packages are marked as 'installed manually' with pkg_info. I can read its man page to find out how."

"If I mark my php package as 'installed manually' and check to make sure its set that way, it will not be deleted when I run pkg_delete -a. And, any dependencies php has will also not be deleted, since they are still needed by php."

As you know, I have been concerned about your inability to make these connections. Skills and knowledge do not come from copying and pasting.

I believe people should be comfortable coming here with no BSD experience and little or no technical background, but they must be willing to obtain both if they wish success.

Are you willing to build up some technical expertise, daemonfowl? If so, I am willing to assist you, but we will have to find some other way than this forum. If you cannot learn to use the FAQ or the man pages you will not ever be able to manage your own systems. You will forever be searching for a "HowTo" document from someone.

I'm willing to help you, but only if you are willing to learn. Consider any (or all) of the following communications methods, and let me know if you are interested in pursuing any of these.

Audio discussions -- if you would prefer conversational English

"White board" diagrams

Presentations

Shared tmux sessions

Instant messaging "chat"

Bootable system consoles via tmux sessions

If you are interested, let me know, and let me know which method(s) you feel might be helpful to you.

However, there is no way I can address your dozens of open, unresolved issues. Either pick: a) introduction to backup and restore, or b) an introduction to using tar, or c) ONE of your many open problems.

If you aren't interested in acquiring some technical self-sufficiency, let me know that, too, so I can stop trying to help.

Sir jggimi , I appreciate your generous offer ! Thank you so much , Worthy Man !
Of course I'm so willing to learn but I'm also aware of my limits as a dumb Art Student :-) .. my Achilles Heel has always been Maths .. and I've been struggling to convince myself that OpenBSD -and Unix- could be for 'us' as well . Lol , sure it is .. to some extent .. :-)
Tmux as a teaching/learning medium seems really interesting .. but instant messaging is simpler .. pf is a subject I'd love to grok first if you accept
Again thank you so much !!

I'm sorry, but PF is a poor first choice. To understand how to use PF, you must first understand TCP/IP networking. Unfortunately TCP/IP networking -- even the basics -- is NOT something that can be quickly taught. Please pick a different topic.